Eave venting system utilizing a ventilated fascia member



March 19, 1968 J. B. DUNNINGTON ETAL EAVE VENTING SYSTEM UTILIZING A VENTILATED FASCIA M EMBER Filed March 6, 1967 United States Patent 3,373,676 EAVE VENTING SYSTEM UTILIZING A VENTILATED FASCIA MEMBER Jon B. Dunnington, Mercer Island, and Douglas K. Babbit, Tacoma, Wash, assignors to Weyerhaeuser Company,

Tacoma, Wash., a corporation of Washington Filed Mar. 6, 1967, Ser. No. 620,838

4 Claims. (Cl. 9837) ABSTRACT .OF THE DISCLOSURE A vented eave construction utilizing a decorative fascia board having a series of protected slots cut part way through the thickness of the fascia board on one surface thereof and cutout portions on the opposite surface perpendicular to slots so that where the cutouts meet the bottoms of the slot walls, apertures result permitting air to flow through the fascia board.

Background of the invention In building roof structures, especially for domestic housing, it is necessary that the attic be ventilated in order to prevent the formation of condensation and damage resulting therefrom. This has been accomplished in many different ways, for example, by providing louvered and/or screened openings at the gables or providing openings in the soiiit members of the cave. Ventilated sotfit construction is usually accomplished by providing intermittent or continuous screened openings cut in the sofiit members. Exemplary of known eave venting systems are US. Patents Nos. 2,991,709, 2,954,727, 3,125,- 942, 3,174,421, 2,969,726, and 3,051,071. Sofiit vents of the type shown by the aforementioned patents and other types are usually somewhat expensive to construct and install and frequently detract from the appearance of the building, appearance being of critical importance in domestic housing as it relates to salability.

The present invention is directed to an eave venting system wherein the attic or roof space of the building is ventilated through a series of protected slots or grooves in the fascia board. Numerous functional as well as aesthetic advantages accrue from using a vented fascia board in contradistinction to the previously mentioned sofiit venting systems. Some of the advantages include (1) linear venting, (2) no need for screens nailed over the openings to exclude foreign objects, such as birds and insects, (3) elimination of sotfit vents, (4) protection aganst rain and snow, (5) simplified on-site construction.

Summary The novel fascia member of this invention which is utilized in the construction of eave venting systems comprises an elongated flat sheet member of wood or other suitable building material of substantially the same width of the roof rafters to which it is secured, the fascia member characterized by a series of slots cut part-way through the member on one surface thereof and on the opposite surface a series of sections cut through the member at a depth sufiicient for the section cuts to intersect the bottom walls of the slots thus permitting air to flow through the member by way of the slots.

3,373,676 Patented Mar. 19, 1968 tion of a building employing the vented fascia member with the slotted surface facing out;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of one side of the vented fascia member;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section of the fascia member shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary perspective view' of the opposite side of the vented fascia member shown in FIG- URE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a vertical section of a fascia member shown in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of a building employing the vented facia member with the cutout portions facing out and including an int'egral gutter.

Defailad' description Referring now to the drawings in detail and first to FIGURE 1, in which a perspective view of a conventional eave construction with the fascia member of this invention is shown, 1 designates one of a series of vertical studs connected at the upper ends by top plates 2 on which ceiling joists may be supported. The top plates 2 also support roof rafters 3 which overhang the studs 1 a desired distance. In conventional construction the roof rafters usually support sheathing 4 to which roof shingles 5 may be attached. The fascia member 8 of this invention is commonly secured to the ends of the rafters 3.

To the ends of the rafters 3 and to the fascia member 8 are nailed a plurality of horizontal supporting elements 6 called lookouts which extend to the outer wall of the building. The inner ends of the lookouts 10 may be nailed to element 7 called the lookout ledger which is secured to the wall sheathing 9. The underside of the rafters is covered by a sofiit 10, usually plywood, although it may be overlaid plywood, hardboard, or other suitable building material. The construction as described thus far does not constitute any part of the invention, but is described for purposes of showing how the novel fascia member of the invention maybe used.

FIGURE 6 shows an eave construction with a fascia member 8 secured opposite that shown in FIGURE 1 and including an integral gutter 14 of sheet metal or other suitable material. As can be seen the fascia member is designed to be used either way depending on the architectural effect desired.

FIGURES 2 and 4 show perspective views of the fascia member 8 of the invention apart from the cave construction. The fascia member comprises an elongated flat member of wood or other suitable building material of a width substantially the same as that of the rafter ends. Slots 11 are pre-cut part-way through the fascia member on one surface and cutouts 12 are cut through the opposite surface so that where the cutouts and the bottom walls of the slots meet, venting apertures result. Although the drawing depicts a design wherein the cutout portions 12 are perpendicular to the slots 11, leaving intermittent rectangular portions 13, any number of designs may be employed. For example, the cutouts 12 can be cut on a diagonal with respect to the slots leaving intermittent parallelogram portions. Any other design of a similar type could be used. As noted previously the fascia member can be secured to the ends of the rafters with either surface facing outward as shown by contrasting FIGURES 1 and 6. The slots 11 are preferably cut on an angle as shown in FIGURE 3 in order to prevent rain and snow from penetrating through the vents. Gutters can also be mailed directly to the fascia members without impairing ventilating properties.

As a consequence of this invention, ample ventilation is assured along the entire edge of the roof. The construc- I 3 tion of the fascia member is simple and construction time to provide a ventilated cave is substantially less than with conventional systems.

Having described our invention, what we claim is:

1. In a ventilated eave construction comprising a plurality of regularly spaced rafters overhanging a side of a building, a fascia member secured to the ends of the overhanging rafters and a sofiit member, the front edge of which is secured to the fascia member, the improvement which comprises utilizing a fascia member comprising an elongated flat sheet material having a width substantially the same as that of the ends of the rafters and further having a series of slots cut part-way through the member on one surface thereof and a series of sections cut through the member on the opposite surface at a depth sufiicient to intersect the bottom Walls of the slots permitting air to flow through the fascia member by Way of the slots.

2. A ventilated fascia member of unitary structure for eave construction which comprises an elongated fiat sheet material adapted to be secured to the ends of overhanging rafters of an eave having a width substantially the same as that of the rafters and further having a series of slots cut part-way through the material on one surface thereof and on the opposite surface a series cut through the material at a depth sufiicient to intersect the bottom walls of the slots, permitting air to flow through the material by way of the slots.

3. The fascia member according to claim 2 wherein the slots are linear and positioned parallel to the length dimension of the material.

4. The fascia member according to claim 2 wherein the section cuts are cut perpendicular to the direction of the slots References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1954 Wenger 9837 1/1961 Pelican 52-95 

